Existing push to talk (PTT) calling systems allow a user to make a call to a group of other users. This can be very desirable, for example, when the input of a particular group is needed to discuss a matter. However, situations may arise when a user only needs to call a subset (one, e.g.) of the group members and calling the entire group is wasteful of system resources or unnecessarily disruptive of the group. For example, a user may need to talk to help desk person about a problem or to a manager to obtain authorization. The user does not need to talk to the whole help desk group or everyone in the manager group. Any one help desk person or manager would probably suffice.
Present calling systems allow the user to call an individual rather than the group. However, this can be a relatively burdensome task for the user to perform manually. The user may need to obtain an individual identifier for a group member, call that individual, and then possibly retry or call another if unsuccessful. Calling the entire group may be easier for the user but, as discussed above, it may be more wasteful and/or disruptive.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus for establishing a group call session involving a subset of a group's members, which provides some improvement over today's capabilities.
Specific embodiments of the present invention are disclosed below with reference to FIGS. 1-5. Both the description and the illustrations have been drafted with the intent to enhance understanding. For example, the dimensions of some of the figure elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements, and well-known elements that are beneficial or even necessary to a commercially successful implementation may not be depicted so that a less obstructed and a more clear presentation of embodiments may be achieved. Simplicity and clarity in both illustration and description are sought to effectively enable a person of skill in the art to make, use, and best practice the present invention in view of what is already known in the art. One of skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the specific embodiments described below without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive or all-encompassing, and all such modifications to the specific embodiments described below are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.